31 of 40 Lanao del Sur mayoral bets from BARMM's pioneer party elected

COTABATO CITY— Only eight out of 40 mayoral candidates from Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP), the pioneering regional political party in the Bangsamoro region, were defeated in the May 12 elections in Lanao del Sur.

Established in 1954, Lanao del Sur, which has 39 towns and whose capital is Marawi City, is the oldest and largest of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim that also has three cities, Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato, where its regional capitol is located. 

Regional officials of the Commission on Elections in BARMM and ranking SIAP leaders were quoted in radio reports in Cotabato City on Sunday, May 18, as saying that 31 candidates of the party for mayors in Lanao del Sur and the provincial capital, Marawi City, were elected during the May 12 electoral exercise.

The SIAP, recognized as BARMM’s first regional political party, is known for its focus on promoting commerce and trade in agricultural areas across Lanao del Sur and beyond. The party aims to generate employment for local communities and support the growth of small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in remote areas covered by peace agreements with the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. 

Four other regional parties in BARMM, including the Bangsamoro Party of the MNLF and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party of the MILF, were established approximately three years after the SIAP was registered with the Commission on Elections.

Reelected Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr., a senior official of SIAP, told reporters on Sunday that they are grateful to Maranao community leaders, among them merchants and barangay officials who campaigned for their 40 candidates for mayors in Marawi City and the 39 towns in the province.

“Only so few did not make it. Only eight of them were defeated by rivals. We don’t worry about that. We shall initiate measures to mend, put an end to their rivalries with those who defeated them," Adiong said.

Besides Adiong, the provincial chief executive, three other ranking SIAP officials, its president, Lanao del Sur Vice Gov. Mohammad Rakiin Adiong, and the two congressional representatives in the province, Zia Alonto Adiong and Yasser Alonto Balindong, also got reelected to their posts.

SIAP's anointed candidate for mayor of the seat of Lanao del Sur’s provincial government, Marawi City, the newcomer Zain Lanto Gandamra, was also proclaimed last week as winner in the city’s May 12 mayoral race, according to regional Comelec officials in BARMM.